Lauren Sánchez Bezos once developed a romantic interest in former President Bill Clinton — a detail that led a friend to jokingly call her “Monica,” according to a lawsuit filed by a former acquaintance.
Yoga instructor Alanna Zabel claims Sánchez shared the crush after meeting Clinton in 2009. In court filings, Zabel says she began using the nickname as a tongue-in-cheek reference to Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern whose relationship with Clinton became a major political scandal.
“In communications with Sanchez, Zabel sometimes used the name ‘Monica’ to refer to Sanchez,” the lawsuit states.
Zabel’s suit centers on a separate allegation that the helicopter pilot and media personality took her idea for a children’s book.
Lauren Sánchez interviewed former President Bill Clinton on the entertainment news program “Extra” in 2010.
According to Zabel, Sánchez — who was married to Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell at the time — “seemed to have enjoyed this nickname.”
“She said [Clinton] was so sexy and mesmerizing,” Zabel separately told The Post.
“She really wanted to meet him and get an interview … She couldn’t stop talking about Bill Clinton.”
In 2010, Sánchez did go on to interview Clinton for the TV show “Extra,” and viewers at the time pointed out what they described as playful, flirty exchanges between the two.
The anecdote is one of several cited in the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in California. The complaint names Sánchez, publisher The Collective Book Studio and distributor Simon & Schuster as defendants.
Zabel said she worked privately with Sánchez for several years.
In her lawsuit, Zabel alleges that Sánchez’s 2024 children’s book, “The Fly Who Flew to Space,” copies key elements from her own title, “Dharma Kitty Goes to Mars,” which was published a year earlier.
According to the complaint, the two women had discussed the idea of creating a children’s book together years earlier after Sánchez described a helicopter flight during which a fly remained stuck to the windshield the entire time. Knowing Zabel had written numerous children’s books, the pair talked about turning the moment into a story.
“It’s paralyzing to watch a former client with a vendetta against you who marries the richest guy in the world, then takes your heart’s passion and pretends it’s hers,” Zabel told The Post, referencing Sánchez’s 2025 marriage to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Zabel also claims that after years of friendship, Sánchez abruptly cut off contact with her in 2009 after the yoga instructor allegedly upstaged her on the dance floor at her 40th birthday party.
